DealBook Online

By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED and THOMAS KAPLAN

Published: December 23, 2010

THE MEANING OF NO The Airgas board rejected the latest offer of $70 a share from Air Products and Chemicals, stating that the offer ''is inadequate, does not reflect the value or prospects of Airgas and is not in the best interests of Airgas, its shareholders and other constituencies.'' The Deal Professor examines the rejection and finds five possible interpretations of the statement. STEVEN M. DAVIDOFF

THE GIFT OF GUNS For employees of AlixPartners, finding a last-minute holiday gift may have gotten a little easier.

Thanks to some holiday generosity from a client, Cerberus Capital Management's Remington Arms, staff members at the consultancy can choose from an array of rifles and shotguns -- with a 33 percent discount. MICHAEL J. de la MERCED INHERITING CASES When Eric T. Schneiderman, below, is sworn in as New York State attorney general, he will assume a large caseload.

If anyone needed a reminder of that fact, Mr. Schneiderman's predecessor, Governor-elect Andrew M. Cuomo, provided it on Tuesday when he sued Ernst & Young for its dealings as the longtime outside auditor for the collapsed investment bank Lehman Brothers.

The lawsuit turned heads in part because it is rare for an outgoing attorney general to commence such high-level litigation in his waning days. But it is hardly the only matter that will be passed along to Mr. Schneiderman. THOMAS KAPLAN

REPAYING TARP LOANS Six more banks have repaid the government bailout money they received during the financial crisis, reaping $2.7 billion in proceeds for taxpayers, the Treasury Department announced Wednesday afternoon. The institutions that repaid money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program are Huntington Bancshares, First Horizon National, Wintrust Financial, Susquehanna Bancshares, Heritage Financial and Bank of Kentucky Financial.